The wide receiver group is deep this year, so you can get away with starting a lot of different players. If you're torn between a few players, use my rankings to figure out who to start and who to sit. I list the top 50 because there aren't any worth playing beyond that.
Byes: Miami Dolphins & Oakland Raiders
Updated: Oct. 2
Other Rankings: QB, RB, WR, TE, DEF
| Rank & Player | Opponent | Notes |
| 1. Antonio Brown, PIT | @JAC | Brown has been killing it. |
| 2. Jordy Nelson, GB | MIN | Nelson has been on fire. |
| 3. Calvin Johnson, DET | BUF | His ankle injury worries me, but you can't afford to not play him. |
| 4. Julio Jones, ATL | @NYG | Julio looks healthy, which means he's a safe start every week. |
| 5. Demaryius Thomas, DEN | ARI | Thomas is always a safe start. |
| 6. Dez Bryant, DAL | HOU | Teams have been focusing on stopping Dez, but he is still producing. |
| 7. A.J. Green, CIN | @NE | Green is an obvious start. |
| 8. Randall Cobb, GB | MIN | Given that the Packers throw the ball a ton, Cobb is safe play. |
| 9. Alshon Jeffery, CHI | @CAR | He's a safer play than Marshall. |
| 10. Jeremy Maclin, PHI | STL | Maclin has played amazing so far. |
| 11. Brandon Marshall, CHI | @CAR | Marshall has just three catches in his last two games. |
| 12. Keenan Allen, SD | NYJ | Allen had a big week last time out, and I think we'll see more of that moving forward. |
| 13. Emmanuel Sanders, DEN | ARI | I thought Sanders' targets would drop with the return of Welker. Kinda whiffed on that one. |
| 14. Kelvin Benjamin, CAR | CHI | Benjamin has played great lately and has a good matchup. |
| 15. Steve Smith, BAL | @IND | Smith has played really well. Maybe he's not washed up. |
| 16. Victor Cruz, NYG | ATL | With the Giants looking like an actual football team on offense, Cruz is worth starting. |
| 17. Vincent Jackson, TB | @NO | He's not a WR1, but Jackson is worth a start. |
| 18. Percy Harvin, SEA | @WAS | He's a tough player to trust for a full season because of injury issues, but play him if you got him. |
| 19. Roddy White, ATL | @NYG | If White is healthy, he plays for you. |
| 20. DeAndre Hopkins, HOU | @DAL | Go ahead and start playing Hopkins. |
| 21. Michael Crabtree, SF | KC | This isn't a great matchup, but he's worth a look. |
| 22. Andre Johnson, HOU | @DAL | I think Hopkins is a better play this week. |
| 23. Michael Floyd, ARI | @DEN | Floyd has taken over the WR No. 1 role in Arizona. |
| 24. Julian Edelman, NE | CIN | This isn't a great matchup for Edleman, but aside from last week, he's been the Patriots' best fantasy player. |
| 25. T.Y. Hilton, IND | BAL | Hilton has increased his production every game. |
| 26. Wes Welker, DEN | ARI | Welker will probably be brought along slowly. |
| 27. Reggie Wayne, IND | BAL | Wayne is usually worth a look at the flex spot. |
| 28. Golden Tate, DET | BUF | Tate doesn't put up big numbers, but doesn't put up small ones either. |
| 29. Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN | @GB | I'm not-so all-in on Patterson anymore. |
| 30. Pierre Garcon, WAS | SEA | Garcon has a terrible matchup this week and is coming off a poor effort. |
| 31. Larry Fitzgerald, ARI | @DEN | Fitz hasn't done much of anything this season. |
| 32. Marques Colston, NO | TB | Colston has some big games every now and then, and has a great matchup. |
| 33. Sammy Watkins, BUF | @DET | Watkins has been nothing but inconsistent. |
| 34. DeSean Jackson, WAS | SEA | Terrible matchup for Jackson this week. |
| 35. Brandin Cooks, NO | TB | Cooks has been inconsistent, but he's got a good matchup this week. |
| 36. Marcus Wheaton, PIT | @JAC | Wheaton will be good, but you don't need to start him quite yet. He does have a great matchup. |
| 37. Eric Decker, NYJ | @SD | Decker needs touchdowns to be worth playing, and that's tough to bank on. |
| 38. Eddie Royal, SD | NYJ | Back-to-back insane weeks from Royal, but we saw the same thing last season. |
| 39. Terrance Williams, DAL | HOU | Teams are focused on Dez, which means Williams is getting more looks. |
| 40. Brian Quick, STL | @PHI | Quick has looked good lately and has a decent matchup. |
| 41. Rueben Randle, NYG | ATL | Randle had a nice effort last time out, so we'll see if that stays the same. |
| 42. Kendall Wright, TEN | CLE | Wright looks like a WR3 at best right now. |
| 43. Anquan Boldin, SF | KC | Don't trust Boldin. He's too inconsistent. |
| 44. Greg Jennings, MIN | @GB | Jennings is a backup. |
| 45. Dwayne Bowe, KC | @SF | Slow start for Bowe. Don't play him if you can avoid it. |
| 46. Brandon LaFell, NE | CIN | LaFell was the only Patriot to put up a passable offensive performance let week. |
| 47. Andrew Hawkins, CLE | @TEN | He's valuable in a PPR league, but not so much in a standard one. |
| 48. Malcolm Floyd, SD | NYJ | Floyd has played well lately. He's someone worth monitoring. |
| 49. Torrey Smith, BAL | @IND | Smith has really struggled this season. I blame Steve Smith. |
| 50. Allen Hurns, JAC | PIT | Hurns is a boom-or-bust play. |